Camp: Protect taxpayers, provide oversight

Daily News staff

Published
8:00 pm EDT, Friday, September 26, 2008

Lawmakers crafting policy on the financial bailout must focus on oversight and on protecting taxpayers, according to Midland Republican Dave Camp, a member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee,

Here's his e-mailed comment Friday, in response to a Daily News request for comment on the financial bailout situation:

"This is a historic crisis we are facing in the finance markets that threatens the jobs of millions of Americans.

"We need to act quickly - in the next few days - and I believe we will do so. As specific policy continues to be crafted, we must focus on two key points: 1) protect taxpayers. The American taxpayers should not be bailing out Wall Street executives who made very bad decisions and have put our economy at greater risk. 2) There must be oversight - no one person should have complete control over any tax dollars that are part of the solution."

Camp is seeking a 10th consecutive two-year House term and also is seeking House Republican colleagues' votes for the top Republican slot on the Ways and Means Committee. If Republicans win the House majority in the Nov. 4 election, that slot would be the committee's chairmanship.

Challenging Camp in the Nov. 4 election are first-time candidate Andrew Concannon, who is a lawyer from Saginaw Township, and previous candidates John Emerick of the U.S. Taxpayers Party and Allitta Hren of the Libertarian Party. Emerick is from Mount Pleasant. Hren is from Big Rapids. Emerick and Hren each got less than 1 percent of the vote two years ago.